The recent introduction of mobile oil change operations to service automotive fleets has met with phenomenal acceptance. Therefore, the construction and use of a mobile lubricant recovery and delivery system is described in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/036,748, filed on Mar. 9, 1998, entitled "Integrated Lubricant Delivery and Retrieval Pallet and Method of Manufacture Thereof," commonly assigned with the present application and incorporated herein by reference. Not addressed in the co-pending application is the need for storage of the various tools and supplies necessary to perform the oil change. One skilled in the art will understand that a variety of tools are required to be aboard the servicing vehicle, e.g., wrenches, screwdrivers, a hydraulic or pneumatic jack, etc. Most typically, the largest of these tools is the hand operated, automotive hydraulic jack, also commonly known as a service jack or floor jack. A service jack is used to raise at least part of the serviced vehicle from the parking lot surface to accomplish the oil change. A system of this nature is necessary to provide the service attendant with access to remove and replace the oil drain plug, and sometimes the oil filter, of the serviced vehicle and to provide room for the oil catch basin during the oil draining operation. In order to have the service jack available at the service site, a location on or within the servicing vehicle must be designed to accommodate its storage during vehicle transit between servicing sites. Even the smallest service jack capable of lifting a nominal 21/2 tons weighs a minimum of about 30 pounds. Therefore, some provision must be made to secure the jack within the servicing vehicle to prevent the jack from moving when the vehicle is in motion, lest some equipment be damaged. Thus in the prior art, a specific storage location over the rear wheel well within the service vehicle has been designated and equipped to secure the service jack. With the service jack secured within the cargo compartment of the service vehicle, it must be removed from the vehicle to the normal use location on the parking lot surface. The traditional approach is for the jack to be lifted into and out of the cargo compartment by the service attendant. Although 30 pounds is well within the normal lifting capacity of an adult service attendant, the repetitive nature of loading and unloading the jack into the service vehicle introduces a significant hazard for improper lifting techniques which can cause injury to the back of the attendant or the possibility of dropping the jack on the attendant's foot. The deeper the storage location for the jack is within the cargo compartment of the service vehicle, the higher is the risk of back injury to the attendant. The current location available for the service jack storage, i.e., over the rear wheel well, increases the hazard of improper alignment of the spine and possible injury. The attendant must lean substantially over the rear bumper and into the cargo compartment of the service vehicle. Additionally, the storage of the jack within the cargo compartment takes up space that might otherwise be used for storage of oil filters, air filters, or other supplies.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a more efficient way of storing and securing a service jack or other objects on or within a mobile oil service vehicle.